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Posted by Jason Urban on March 7th, 2010 |  Voices in Green: Creative Practices in Response to the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election, organized by University of Texas art history doctoral student Roja Najafi, is “an archival exhibition focusing on art and activism around the Iranian Green Movement.” The show, recently on view at UT’s FAB Gallery, featured a physical collection of posters but all of the images were originally disseminated via the internet during 2009’s Green Revolution.
It seems important to note that the posters were printed far from the turbulent streets of Tehran. Historically, printed matter in the form of posters have had great value as agents of change and means of spreading messages. While that tradition does continue, this exhibition raises some interesting questions about the changing role of the poster in political protest. The advent of the internet and digital technology have undoubtedly had an effect- notions of authorship, authenticity, distribution and ownership all become malleable. In the case of Voices in Green, these posters serve as a teaching tool for a distant culture to learn of Iranian struggles for fair elections as opposed to functional documents of protest. Maybe it’s obvious to say but thanks to the web, people across the planet can appreciate near “real time” cultural artifacts as an act of solidarity or, perhaps to more cynical eyes, cultural tourism.
The exhibition is a solid one on any number of levels… as a collection of images, as historical documents, as a reflection on changing technology. Here’s a few more Printeresting posts about the Iranian election.
 Above is a detail… the pixelation is quite apparent upon close inspection and stands in stark contrast to “fine art” digital images that seek to hide their underlying structure through greater resolution. The evidence of pixelation serves to make the images more immediate and augment their message. It speaks to the origin of these posters and seems appropriate to the subject.
A bunch more pictures after the jump…
Read More After the Jump Iranian Political Graphics: Internet Dissemination
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Posted by A FRIEND OF PRINTERESTING on February 28th, 2010 | GUEST POST by Abra Ancliffe.
Not too long after the invention of moveable type in Mainz, Germany in 1453, the printed multiple was used as an act of protest against the ruling class: the Catholic Church. Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing his oft-mentioned 95 Theses to the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) doors in 1546 in protest against the Catholic Church’s use of indulgences. The 95 Theses were subsequently printed by multiple presses and disseminated around Europe.
It is in this tradition of protest and activism that the amazing exhibition now on display at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now must be viewed. Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee (founder of JustSeeds) as part of Exit Art’s Curatorial Incubator Program, the exhibition brings together hundreds of protest / activist / social justice posters alongside videos, photographs and other printed ephemera from the past 50 years. As the Exit Now website states:
Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings of social movements, such as those for Civil Rights and Black Power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women’s rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and student and worker revolution in France. The exhibition also explores the development of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organization.
On display are a dizzying array of print processes: from spray paint stencils & relief prints carved on desk rubber-mats to offset lithographs and screenprints. The exhibition will be on view at Feldman Gallery + Project Space of Pacific Northwest College of Art (1241 N.W. Johnson St. Portland, Oregon) until March 17, 2010.
 Women’s Liberation Movement, 1960’s – present, including You Should be Cannon Fodder, a lithograph made in Israel, 1990
 The Palestinian Intifada, 1987- present including posters made in Israel & Palestine.
Read More After the Jump Signs of Change at PNCA
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Posted by Jason Urban on December 8th, 2009 | 
With Iranian protests in the news, it may be a good time to consider the future of political graphics and their traditional material form- the poster. A fundamental truth of Printmaking is it’s identity as “the democratic art.” Sometimes to the point of cliche, prints are cited as a tool of political empowerment. While fine art prints often live in a world of white-walled galleries and archival framing, print media still exists as a means of disseminating information and rallying movements. The real change for the political print in recent years is its distribution model.
Rather than a printer toiling away in a shop, producing posters by the stack, images are communicated electronically and “the people” print their own. While something tactile is lost, the political print is a utilitarian object and must ultimately use the means most suited to it’s end. In 2009, that translates into downloadable graphics and the desktop printer. Here are some examples from Iran…
Which is not to say the old-fashioned approach to poster production is completely gone. LA street artist Brohmeini made some solid iconic posters over the summer inspired by events in Iran. See more pics after the jump.
 Read More After the Jump Iranian Political Graphics
Posted by Jason Urban on July 13th, 2009 |  Favianna Rodriguez, I Stand with Sotomayor
Printeresting supports multilingual culture: ¡Muy printeresante!
It appears, for the moment at least, the more liberal side of American politics is continuing its embrace of iconic graphic imagery. The recent success of the Obama Hope poster has spilled over into new figures and issues (though admittedly to less overall fanfare). A current example, Presente.org has been promoting this downloadable “I Stand with Sotomayor” poster design by Favianna Rodriguez in anticipation of Sotomayor’s Confirmation Hearings.
Downloadable political prints like this one bring up some interesting issues. At the risk of overusing the “meta” prefix, the internet seems to be creating an era of Metaprint. Historically, images had to be distributed by physical means to affect change. The strategy of the political print was clear and simple: make a bunch of prints and get them out into the world so that your message reaches an audience. Now, distribution is executed through an electronic network and the message reaches the audience without a printed component. The print (if there is one) is the last step, a step farmed out to the audience as an optional souvenier.
Metaprint, fueled by digital image sharing technology, is increasing the power of print exponentially but also calling into question why we make physical prints in the first place.
Posted by Jason Urban on April 2nd, 2009 | 
Kevin McCloskey sent us some timely links to his recent essays about Mexico and his research regarding the Taller de Grafica Popular (Workshop of the Peoples’ Graphics). The TPG is a printmaking collective founded in Mexico City in 1937 by a group of radical Mexican artists. According to art historian Lincoln Cushing, the TPG is “arguably the single most significant graphics workshop in the Americas” and “virtually unknown in the United States.”
The first essay sets the tone a bit in terms of the current political situation and discusses a contemporary Mexican political art group called the ASARO collective, the Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca. The group has experienced some commercial success recently but it’s little comfort as the group’s goals are political not financial. As the political climate changes and the goverment takes more steps to control dissent, the group has gone from posting on the streets to showing in galleries and have even established there own- Espacio Zapata. McCloskey helped arrange and curate an ASARO exhibition at the Fowler Museum at UCLA called ”La Tinta Grita/The Ink Shouts: The Art of Social Resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico.”
The second essay goes into McCloskey’s search for the legendary Taller de Grafica Popular in Mexico city and his chance meeting with TPG master printer Reynaldo Olivares. Both essays are worth a read.
Here are a few images from ASARO and Olivares of Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary leader from the early part of the century.
 Modernized woodcut portrait of Zapata by ASARO Collective. Interesting the choice of punk style for a contemporary version of Zapata.
Read More After the Jump Taller de Grafica Popular
Posted by Jason Urban on January 16th, 2009 | 
Shepard Fairey was interviewed by Stephen Colbert last night on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. It’s brief but nice to see a graphic artist getting some attention. Not sure how long this video will be on youtube… let us know if you notice that the link is dead.
Posted by Jason Urban on October 13th, 2008 |  2000 Presidential Election Posters by Robbie Conal
Note that both candidates get equal treatment
There is an article in the Los Angeles Times today about painter and guerilla poster artist Robbie Conal. The story by Irene Lacher coincides with No Kicking, No Spitting, a Conal retrospective at Track 16 in Santa Monica, CA. Conal’s work has been critiquing politicians and media elite since the eighties; poster campaigns of his groteseque portraits have appeared on city streets (and in galleries) all over the country. With so many artists weighing in on politics these days, it’s interesting to look back at Conal’s prolific oeuvre.
Below is the short version of the 1992 documentary Post No Bills by Clay Walker and Maryanne Dissard. The documentary “foregrounds the tension between Conal’s creative process and the lures of a desperate notoriety achieved through catering to the newsmedia’s craving for controversy in his journey to benefit financially from the dual life of his work.”
In stark contrast to past works, a recent poster from Conal actually reads as an endorsement instead of critique! Can Obama be the first politician to dodge the wrath of Robbie Conal? I’d like to think it’s possible but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Posted by Jason Urban on August 9th, 2008 |
There have been a number of interesting items over the past few weeks related to The Graphic Phenomenon that is the Barack Obama campaign for the presidency. For the sake of brevity, I’m just going to condense them into one post, even though any one of them could justify individual attention.
So to get started- just in time for Olympic fever, Obamagraphics have invaded Chinatown… most of the pics online are from San Francisco but I would guess these are in various Chinatowns nationwide. Made by Oakland-based designers at 5733, this poster/sticker campaign emphasizes the candidate’s cross-cultural appeal. The Chinese script translates to “forward” and has a retro-propaganda feel. The viewer looks up at a confident Obama arms crossed and sun rays beaming around him (btw- there is a great little blurb by Steven Heller in the most recent issue of Print that points out the rampant use of “sun rays” in advertising- once you start looking, you find them everywhere).
On July 17th, the Wall Street Journal ran a great article by Christina S.N. Lewis called Picturing Obama. The story details the rise in the collectability of Obama merch- in particular print/posters. It’s really worth a read. This must be a first, a presidential campaign that introduces people to the art market. From the article…
Knowledgeable collectors have already turned a profit by buying multiples. Tanley Wong, a 30-year-old consultant for Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C., owns 30 to 40 Obama art prints, including several of Mr. Fairey’s “Hope” prints, which were originally handed out at a rally at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Wong, who has donated $1,000 to the Obama campaign, bought the posters for roughly $75 each on eBay from UCLA students and has subsequently resold some online for about $700 each.
and…
There appears to be little demand for art promoting Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, art experts say. According to statistics from eBay, only six McCain-related art items sold on the site in the past 60 days, with an average selling price of $57. That’s compared with 889 Obama-related art items that have sold in the past 60 days, with an average selling price of $127. Of course McCain-related art sales may be lagging behind because there are fewer pieces available.
Speaking of Steven Heller, he’s written a piece for the New York Times called Stuck on Lapel Pins. He invited a number of designers to solve Obama’s lapel pin problem. In addition to Heller’s group, if you start looking around there are tons of DIY, artist-produced pins out there promoting his campaign.
And finally- this goes back to May. I never got around to posting it. Some Obamagraphics graffiti that for obvious reasons was covered most thoroughly by video game blogs. Apparently Grand Theft Auto IV promo posters in Los Angeles were “liberated” by Obama supporters to send a very different message. Obama’s face and message were wheat-pasted over the GTA ads. I like the idea of one print campaign attacking another like a virus. Photo credit goes to Luke Wahl…
Posted by Jason Urban on July 9th, 2008 | 
Geez. If this keeps up, Printeresting is going to have to assign a full-time writer to the presidential campaign. More political print/graphics in the news, this time in Boston. Ron English and Gallery XIV legally posted giant prints featuring an image of an Obama/Lincoln hybrid portrait. The comparison to Lincoln is not an entirely new one though this is the first time I’ve seen a literal juxtaposition of their two faces. The effect is somewhat jarring. From the Boston Globe…
English said he was born and raised in Illinois and is an Obama supporter. He said he wanted the image to serve as a springboard for conversation about Obama’s candidacy. “I believe Obama will take up Lincoln’s challenge of uniting the country,” English wrote. “This is the most excited I’ve ever been about a presidential candidate and I’m looking for ways that I can contribute as an artist and a citizen.” Some say the comparisons between Obama and Lincoln only go so far.
That last sentence is pretty funny.
The street installation has created controversy with neighborhood businesses and residents largely because of the influx of English fans, a number of whom have done some of their own illegal postings of the images around town. This brings up the issue raised in the last Obamagraphics post, namely, whether or not artists making propaganda without campaign oversight help or hurt the cause. Does Obama take flack for English’s zealous endorsement? Is any publicity good publicity?
(Thanks to RL for the links/story)
Posted by Jason Urban on July 6th, 2008 | Posters have gotten more mainstream media attention over the past couple of months thanks to some Barack Obama campaign posters (see prior posts: 1, 2, 3). A few days ago, the Bryant Park Project from NPR News aired a piece called Posters Show Obama as Superhero, Sun God, Saint. The eight-minute story is worth a listen.
 “Yes We Can” by artist Antar Dayal exists in an edition of 4800 (!) and is for sale on the Obama website.
NPR’s Mike Pesca speaks with Steve Seidman, a professor who has authored the forthcoming book Posters, Propaganda and Persuasion in Election Campaigns around the World and through History. The discussion is about the use of Obama’s image in a string of recent political posters and the degree to which it’s unusual in modern day politics for graphic representations of a politician to be incorporated into campaign materials. According to Seidman, since Walter Montdale’s campaign in 1988 there has a been shift towards “bumper sticker,” text-only posters. The Obama posters have been a break from this recent tradition. Critics of the posters site perceived similarities to Che Guevara, Joseph Stalin, and other controversial historical figures.
Pesca and Seidman raise some other interesting issues in the story: branding in politics, whether or not artists making propaganda without campaign oversight help or hurt the cause, and the pros and cons were McCain to release his own posters. There is much lip service paid to the political power of print and yet how often does it really enter the national debate? It’s exciting to see art & design having an impact on the discourse this election year…
9/3 UPDATE: Prof. Seidman has started a really great blog that discusses and analyzes Posters in Election Politics. The site is full of interesting historical references and contemporary analysis… Seidman is really dissecting image culture as it pertains to elections. Fantastic and worth a visit.
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